Emma had fallen into a numb passing of time, waking, following her routines, working, more routines, sleep. She no longer left the house, having her groceries delivered and dropped at the door. There was no baking, and meals were kept simple. No fires burned in the fireplaces, and the remaining logs were left untouched. She tucked all the speakers away in the cabinets of the sideboard Wyatt had repurposed as an entertainment stand and put the projector in there as well. Movies and music held no joy for her anymore.
Emma took down each of Wyatt's photos and packed up his things, putting it all in the darkroom. She couldn't even bear to see his beloved space, so she hung a sheet over the door to pretend it didn't exist. The worst was anything that made her body feel good. An orgasm now made her weep uncontrollably, so she took the basket of toys from under the bed and stored it with everything else. She never wanted to see another vibrator, pasta crimper, or eye mask again. If it reminded her of him, she did her best to ignore it, but the problem was the entire house held memories.
Only her hummingbird necklace remained. That she wore everyday as a reminder to never fall in love again. Everyone leaves, and feelings bring nothing but pain.
It was the first week of March, and Emma hadn't talked to anyone other than herself for over two weeks. If she wasn't half crazy before, she was well on her way now, which is why her scream when someone knocked at the door wasn't entirely surprising. What did shock her was hearing someone yell 'police' while trying to kick said door down. She immediately ran over and opened it before the wood splintered under Detective Lacey's foot only to have the woman spill into her living room.
"What are you doing?" Emma asked completely perplexed.
"You screamed," she grunted, pushing up from the floor.
"Your knock startled me."
"Well, your silence startled me. What the hell? Where have you been? You haven't answered any of my texts."
"There weren't any answers," Emma mumbled, turning to walk back to the kitchen.
Cam shut the door and followed her in, clearly seeing not everything was right with Emma. "What happened? Did someone hurt you? Threaten you?"
"Ripped my heart out, tore it in half, and left it bleeding on the kitchen floor," Emma rambled, putting the tea kettle on the stove. "Tea?"
"This is about a break-up? Shit, I'm not great at those."
Emma snorted. "Apparently, neither am I."
"Well, I know tea won't help. You got anything stronger?"
"I don't really drink."
"No time like the present," Cam said, texting someone on her phone.
Twenty minutes later another knock came at the door.
"Now, who's here?" Emma grumbled from the couch.
"Reinforcements," Cam said, racing for the door. She was thrilled when she saw the headlights through the front windows. Smalltalk was not Cam's forte, but Jessie, her best friend, always knew what to do when it came to matters of the heart. She was also the best bar therapist in Shelter Cove, so what food and booze didn't cure, her words typically could. "Thank you for coming."
"I got here as fast as I could," she grinned. "Hi, I'm Jessie, resident heartbreak specialist and junk food connoisseur."
"Hi, I'm Emma." That was about all she could muster. After weeks of silence, two women in her house felt like a cyclone.
"You got it bad. Why don't we start with ice cream. I got four different flavors, chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter brownie, and strawberry shortcake."
"Peanut butter brownie," Emma murmured, liking the newcomer a little more.
YOU ARE READING
I See You
ParanormalDespite all her lists, spreadsheets, and research, Emma Murdock's-make that Porter's-life hasn't gone to plan. All she ever wanted was connection, someone who truly cared, and when she married Todd Murdock, she thought her wish had come true. Until...
